De Blasio Lowers His Voice

Mayoral Candidate Appears to Be Less Accessible Since Clinching Democratic Nomination

By

Michael Howard Saul and

Joe Jackson

Sept. 25, 2013 8:57 p.m. ET

Democratic mayoral nominee Bill de Blasio, declining to take questions, led a gaggle of reporters on a futile chase Monday. A day later, he cut reporters' questions off after 6.5 minutes. On Wednesday, he granted an interview to a radio station that began with a query about his son's dating life.

Since he clinched his party's nomination—and with two public polls showing he has a commanding lead of 40-plus percentage points against GOP mayoral nominee Joe Lhota—Mr. de Blasio appears to be less accessible as he pursues becoming New York City's 109th mayor.

There are fewer events on his public schedule, when compared with his much busier primary calendar. He didn't hold any events this past weekend. And when Mr. de Blasio responds to inquiries from reporters, the sessions are markedly shorter than in the past.

ENLARGE

Democratic mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio in Manhattan on Monday following a news conference.
Natalie Keyssar for The Wall Street Journal

Mr. de Blasio drew criticism from his Republican opponent this week when he rejected Mr. Lhota's call to debate weekly in each of the city's five boroughs. Mr. de Blasio agreed to three debates, one more than the two in which he is legally required to appear because he accepts government matching funds.

"It's increasingly clear that Mr. de Blasio is trying to duck tough questions being raised about his record," said Jessica Proud, Mr. Lhota's spokeswoman.

Mr. de Blasio denied on Tuesday that he's become less accessible. "Do I look like I'm dodging you right now? It's the silly season," he said, adding that he has a "press availability" almost daily. "I'm very proud to make myself available on a regular basis. You'll be seeing plenty of me," he said before walking away as reporters continued to shout out questions.

During the primary, at an Aug. 29 news conference next to City Hall on Mr. de Blasio's plan to raise taxes to support prekindergarten, Mr. de Blasio stood at the microphone for more than 36 minutes, occasionally giving way to invited state representatives.

"We welcome your questions," said Mr. de Blasio to the assembled media after a lengthy introduction. The candidate then took queries for nearly 14 minutes, without the interruption of aides who now habitually seek to limit the number of questions from reporters after roughly five minutes.

On Monday, Messrs. de Blasio and Lhota attended a news conference outside the United Nations about Iran. When Mr. Lhota finished his remarks, he responded to a flurry of reporters' questions. When Mr. de Blasio finished, he declined to answer questions as reporters chased him shouting queries.

Doug Muzzio, a professor of public affairs at Baruch College and a longtime observer of city politics, said Mr. de Blasio is engaging in a classic front-runner campaign strategy: Sitting on the lead.

"The less exposure you have, the less likely you'll say something dumb," Mr. Muzzio said. "They believe it's their race to lose and they're not going to lose it by untoward remarks."

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